1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus such as a portable computer that has a housing in which a light-emitting diode is housed, and more specifically to a structure designed to guide light emitted from the diode to the outside of the housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,808,861 and Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 8-6670 each disclose a portable computer, which is an example of the electronic apparatus. The portable computer includes a main unit and a display unit supported on the main unit.
The main unit includes an indicator that displays the operation status of the portable computer or the contents of a function. The indicator has a plurality of lenses that are exposed to the outside of the main unit. The lenses are placed to face a plurality of diodes housed inside the main body. In a portable computer of such a type that a light-emitting diode is placed distant away from a respective lens, an optical guide is provided between the diode and the lens. The optical guide is made of a transparent synthetic resin material. When a light-emitting diode emits light, the light emitted from the diode is guided through the optical guide to a respective lens. Thus, the lens that corresponds to the diode that is emitting the light is lit up to optically indicate the operation status of the portable computer or the contents of a function.
On the other hand, the main unit contains a plurality of components such as a printed wiring board on which light-emitting diodes are mounted, a speaker and a sub-battery. These components are held at predetermined positions within the main unit via one holder.
In conventional portable computers, an optical guide and a holder are separate parts from each other. With this structure, the optical guide and holder need to be mounted to the main unit, thereby requiring a more time and labor in the assembly of the main unit. In addition, a plurality of screws and boss portions are required to mount the optical guides and holder to the main unit. As a result, the number of parts is increased, and consequently, the production cost of the portable computer is raised.